WAGONS, BUGGIES, AND SLEDS 243 



as that required of material used in the construction of 

 wagons and buggies. All wood should be carefully se- 

 lected and thoroughly dried both in air and in kiln. 

 Well-seasoned black birch is probably best for hubs; 

 best-seasoned white oak for spokes, felloes, bolsters, 

 sandboards, and hounds ; hickory is preferable for axles, 



FIG. l8l A SECTION OF A WAGON HUB SHOWING THREE METHODS OF 



FORMING THE SPOKE SHOULDERS. THE ROUND SHOULDERS ARE 



SAID TO BE MUCH STRONGER AND MORE DURABLE 



although the best straight-grained white oak is good. All 

 metal parts should be of good Norway iron or mild steel. 

 344. Wheels. All wooden wheels should be dished or 

 the outer face of the wheel should present a concave sur- 

 face. The dish in the wheel makes it much stronger, 

 which may be illustrated with a paper disk and a paper 

 cone. The cone is much stiffer. For front wheels this 

 dish should be from ^ inch to ^ inch, and for rear 

 wheels from y 2 to Y inch. At one time, wheels were 

 given much more dish than at present. An English 

 writer states that cart wheels should be dished as much 

 as 3 inches. By giving the wheels an excessive amount 



